Change to Shift Pattern and Redundacy

Hello,

I wonder if you can help me please.

My partner has worked for a manufacturing company for around 8 years. They are changing shift patterns etc and are forcing my partner and other employees to sign a 44hr contract (they are currently on a 3 shift pattern). The Management are now threatening with giving the mentioned employees 90 day redundancy notice but with no redundancy pay if they refuse to co-operate with signing the contract. They have until the 15th August to comply.

I was just wondering if this is legal procedure?

Many Thanks.

This is very difficult to respond to without knowing the full facts, ie. whether consultation has been taking place, are there any unions involved and without seeing the contract of employment with regards to varying it.

However, if there is no such agreement or contractual term in place to unilaterially vary the contract with regards to hours of work and shift patterns, then you dont have to agree to it but your partner must put her concerns in writing to them about it and then if all else fails raise a grievance.

On the face of what you are saying that if they are threatening them with redundancy if they fail to agree, then I this is rather drastic and potentially unfair.

I think that as this is a joint problem with your partner's work colleagues that maybe they seek help from a union, Acas or a solicitor to whom you can put the full details.

Sorry, I cant be more helpful, but employment law advice cannot be general when an individual is involved and no full details are supplied.

Best wishes

Carol

Again it is quite difficult to respond to you without knowing the full facts as Carol has mentioned however there are points of Employment Law concerning Changes to Employment Conditions which I can tell you about.

Sometimes an Employer will want to make organisational changes which ultimately requires a change to the Employment Contract (be it working hours or pay in response to economic circumstances). Sometimes changes are welcome and sometimes in your case the change is unwelcome and may not be agreed to.

If your partner doesn’t agree to the change, the employer is not simply allowed to just bring about the change. The employer has to consult your partner or a representative e.g. a trade union official, explaining the reasons for the need to change the working hours and listen to alternative ideas from the employees. For things to run smoothly, the employer wants your agreement and sometimes will offer financial incentives.

As Carol referred to earlier, there may be a clause which is in your partners contract which says something like “X reserves the right to change working hours to meet the needs of the business” but even then, this type of clause doesn’t give the Company the total free rein to make unilateral changes to contractual terms.

There are several things to consider

1. If your partner and colleagues after full and reasonable consultation still do not agree to the change, the Employer can terminate the contract (by giving notice) and offer you a new contract which includes the revised terms – basically dismissing your partner and re-employing. Your employer would be expected to follow a statutory minimum dismissal procedure if this route was followed.

2. If you didn’t accept the new terms, your partner could resign and perhaps claim constructive dismissal.

3. Your partner could reject the changes in principal whilst continuing to work with the Company on the new terms. If your partner did this, they must ensure that objections to the change are clear. Then a claim for breach of contract could be considered.

If you can reply to the thread with further info about consultation so far and the employment contract, we may be able to help further